Samaria Town Faces Demolition, Even Though Land Legally Bought

The Attorney General is intent on demolishing homes in the Samaria community of Migron, regardless of facts, says Migron spokesperson.

By David Lev

First Publish: 3/23/2014, 8:26 AM

Residents of the Samarian community of Migron protest outside the PM's house (file)

Flash 90

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has recommended demolishing homes in the neighborhood of Migron Heights, a neighborhood of the Jewish community of Migron, located in the Binyamin region, north of Jerusalem – and that's unfair, Migron spokesperson Shuki Seth told Arutz Sheva in an interview. “That section was purchased by us,” he said. “The Attorney General's decision is scandalous.”

The Attorney General has long sought the demolition of the homes. Last May, Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber recently sent a letter to the IDF Civil Administration ordering it to destroy several homes that remain standing.

Much of the town of Migron was destroyed after Palestinian Authority resident Arabs claimed ownership of the land on which it had been built. Officials agreed to destroy the community even after the Arabs who claimed the land withdrew their lawsuit when requested to present proof of their claims. The Attorney General found that the claims could not be substantiated. Yet despite that fact, the Courts ruled that land not registered as state land is de facto not to be settled by Jews.

However, the government took a different approach regarding 17 homes belonging to Israeli residents who had documents proving that the land on which their homes had been built had been legally purchased. The Arabs registered as having sold the land to the 17 families disputed the sale, but the government agreed to wait and not to demolish the buildings for three months in order to allow their legal status to be determined. If the land sale was found to be valid, government officials were to have examined the option of allowing the buildings to remain as part of a small Jewish homestead.

Seth said that the government tried very hard to prove that the community has somehow faked the purchase – to no avail. “They ran police investigations and other investigations, and found nothing. Even the Attorney General's office is contradicting itself – claiming that we 'may' have falsified documents, but agreeing that there is no evidence for this. We have all the documentation, and it has all been proven legitimate.”

Seth believes that eventually the community will prevail. “In ten years Migron will be a big town, with thousands of residents,” he said. “We call on all politicians to stand up for justice and to prevent this scandal from occurring.”